Backflip
A backflip is a monster truck stunt done off of a specially built ramp that enables the truck to do a backflip. History of Attempts* *2000- At the Monster Jam World Finals 1, Lyle Hancock attempted a Reverse Backflip during freestyle in Wrenchead.com. The truck ended up going through the container he planned to use, and doing a reverse sky wheelie off it. Lyle revealed his intentions for the stunt a year later in 2001. *2004- the first backflip attempt is done by Mike Welch Motorsports by a remote-controlled Freakshow (Welch), by attempting to either do a forward momentum backflip off a massive, long ramp, or as a plan b, drop off the ramp and use the rebound to backflip. The truck ended up not getting enough speed, and dropped off the ramp, bouncing, but not coming anywhere close to succeeding. *2007 - In a show in Sweden, Tom Meents and Maximum Destruction completed a Save somewhat similar to a possible monster truck backflip. This started the monster truck backflip idea. *2008 - Travis Pastrana and Nitro Circus attempts the very first standard Monster Truck Backflip, but ends with a crash. *2009 - Tom Meents lands the very first backflip in his backyard. At the Monster Jam World Finals 10 Encore, he tried it again, this time, in front of almost 50,000 people in attendance. However, his attempt was unsuccessful and over rotated, completing the flip, but landing on his tail. A few months after World Finals 10, Larry Quick and Ghost Ryder landed the first backflip in an encore, in front of a sold out crowd in Bradford, VT. After performing this feat, he attempted it in multiple independent shows with some successful attempts. *2010 - Cam McQueen and Nitro Circus successfully completes the first backflip in a scored competition. Later that year, Larry Quick attempts the first Double Backflip at the Domination in the Dome event. His attempt was unsuccessful as he only completed one rotation. *2011 - The first ever ramp designated for backflips in scored competition is built and is used for the Monster Jam World Finals 12. Brutus (Chris Bergeron), Madusa (Madusa) and Nitro Circus (Cam McQueen) were the only ones who used the ramp and Nitro Circus was the only one to successfully land the backflip, as Madusa rebounded and rolled and Bergeron crashed while trying to drive over it. This move almost won McQueen the Freestyle Championship only to lose to Jim Koehler and Avenger in the tiebreaker. In the encore, Ryan Anderson and Son-uva Digger completes the second backflip of the show in a non scored freestyle exhibition. *2012 - The ramp is seen once again at the Monster Jam World Finals 13. George Balhan and Mohawk Warrior successfully executes the first Consecutive Backflip at the same show. Later that year, the ramp makes its first Monster Jam appearance outside the Monster Jam World Finals. The ramp is used for the Path of Destruction Tour where Tom Meents attempted the first Double Backflip in Monster Jam. His attempt was again unsuccessful. Monster Mash attempts the first reverse backflip off a van, but instead rams through it, and tipping over. *2013 - Tom Meents attempts two Double Backflips, one at the World Finals, and one at the Path of Destruction Tour. The World Finals attempt was landed, although the rotations weren't counted as successful while the Path of Destruction attempt was failed. *2014 - The ramp makes more Monster Jam appearances outside the World Finals and the Path of Destruction. At the World Finals, Cam McQueen, this time driving Northern Nightmare, attempted the second ever Reverse Backflip in competition, however, it was unsuccessful. Dave Radzierez and XDP Diesel becomes the first diesel powered monster truck to attempt a backflip. *2015 - The ramp is seen in multiple shows of the first Fox Sports 1 Series. At the PoD tour, Tom Meents unsuccessfully attempts another Double Backflip. *2016 - The ramp is almost seen in every Monster Jam stadium show. Cam McQueen and Northern Nightmare makes history once again as he successfully executes the Corkscrew off of the backflip ramp at the World Finals. *2017 - Neil Elliott successfully does the Mid-Air Backflip (driving Monster Jam 25th Anniversary truck in the racing encore) and the Reverse Backflip (driving Max-D in freestyle) at the World Finals. Rosalee Ramer becomes the first female driver to attempt a Corkscrew in Wild Flower. Chuck Werner in El Toro Loco also attempts 3 individual Corkscrew attempts during this season. *2018 - Tom Meents makes the most successful attempt of the Double Backflip at the World Finals 19 encore (driving Rampage (George)) although, still crashes at the end. Tom Meents is also the second driver who completed the Reverse Backflip in San Diego. BJ Johnson becomes the last driver to attempt a corkscrew at World Finals 19 driving Gas Monkey Garage. *2019 - Monster Jam's 2019 track design for both stadiums and arenas featured multiple 8-Pack Wheelie Ramps for Wheelies and Moon Walks however, due to the steepness and angle of these ramps, some drivers were able to attempt or even land a backflip using these. This move was nicknamed the "Mini-Flip". At several events, Scott Buetow lands the Reverse Corkscrew (a move he created with his unique style of backflips) in El Toro Loco (ice). At an Anaheim show, Heavy D in BroDozer lands a Mini-Flip after many failed attempts, making BroDozer the first diesel powered monster truck to land the stunt. Following Heavy D's historic mini-flip, Diesel Dave doubles up BroDozer's historic season by landing a Consecutive Backflip at an Anaheim show, also making it the first diesel powered monster truck to complete the stunt. In St. Louis, John Gordon and Bad Company complete the first in competition Mid-Air Backflip. *Not all attempts are listed, only notable/historic attempts or moments involving types of backflips Types of Backflips * Standard: A standard 360° rotation stunt done by monster trucks. * Double Backflip: An additional rotation is done after the standard. As of 2018, no successful double backflip has been attempted by both Quick and Meents (though he landed the truck in the 2013 and 2015 attempts, those attempts did not count because he didn't get enough rotation in the air). * [[McFlip|'McFlip']]: A corkscrew backflip invented by Northern Nightmare driver Cam McQueen at the Monster Jam World Finals 17. * Consecutive Backflip: A truck performs a normal backflip, but when it hits the ground the truck rebounds and the driver hits the throttle the truck will perform a second backflip from the rebound. George Balhan driving Mohawk Warrior in Monster Jam World Finals 13 is the first one to do this kind of backflip. However, Diesel Dave, driving BroDozer in Anaheim 2019, successfully completed the stunt and landed it cleanly. * Backflip to Backflip: A truck under rotates a backflip and, when the front tires retouch the ground, the driver will hit the the throttle and flip the truck into a second backflip. This is not a Double Backflip as only one flip is completed at a time in between the wheels leaving, and returning to the ground. It can be considered to be a purposeful form of consecutive backflips which are typically accidental. * Backflip to Moonwalk (also known as a Reverse Slap Wheelie): A truck performs a backflip, then the driver selects Reverse during the rotation, and once it touches the ground, the driver will hit the throttle, and it will perform a Moonwalk from the landing. Ryan Anderson driving Son-uva Digger in Monster Jam World Finals 19 is the first one to do this trick in front of the fans. He also attempted another one during his freestyle run in San Diego 2019. Other drivers who did this stunt are Camden Murphy and Coty Saucier. * Reverse Backflip: When the truck faces the opposite way and lines up against the backflip ramp, and then the driver will select reverse, the truck will perform a "reverse" backflip. The first attempt was at the Monster Jam World Finals 15 with Cam McQueen and Northern Nightmare but the truck ended up crashing and even burned the motor. Since then, drivers like Todd LeDuc and Linsey Weenk has attempted the stunt at least once. Later, at the Monster Jam World Finals 18 in 2017, Neil Elliott successfully performed the stunt in front of spectators. However, in San Diego 2018, Tom Meents completed the stunt, but corkscrewed, and landed on the wall protection. * Mid-Air Backflip (Forward Momentum): A stunt performed by Neil Elliott at the Monster Jam World Finals 18 racing encore where the truck hits a ramp, performing a backflip while traveling forward over Son-Uva Digger. It was done for the first time ever in competition by John Gordon in Bad Company in 2019. Adam Anderson, driving Grave Digger the Legend in Baltimore 2012 during the Monster Jam Path of Destruction tour, attempted the stunt in front of the fans. * Mini-Flip: 'A standard backflip, performed on the 8-pack wheelie ramp instead of the usual backflip ramp or wall, it's named like that as it doesn't get as much height as a common backflip. This style was popularized during the 2019 Monster Jam season. * 'Corkscrew: A truck will approach the backflip ramp at an angle, and fly off the edge doing a 360-roll through the air. Although it is not officially a backflip, it is performed off of the backflip ramp at an angle. Popularized by Cam McQueen in Northern Nightmare. Tom Meents was the first one to do the trick in front of the fans in Baltimore, 2011. Chuck Werner attempted the first Willman chassis corkscrew in El Toro Loco. Rosalee Ramer was the first female to attempt a corkscrew at World Finals 18 in Wild Flower. Brianna Mahon was the second woman to attempt it in Scooby-Doo! also at World Finals 18. The last corkscrew was attempted by BJ Johnson in Gas Monkey Garage at World Finals 19. * '''360 Flair: '''A 360 flair is similar to a standard corkscrew, however the truck completes a backflip rotation while twisting 360 degrees in the air and lands 180 degrees from its original position. This has only been attempted and landed by Scott Buetow in El Toro Loco (ice) in several events during the 2019 Monster Jam season. Each backflip has a risk, as the truck receives a lot of damage at the rear, many trucks break or flat the tires with that move, ending the run early. Types of Backflip Ramps * Dirt: The typical backflip ramp. Built just like a regular dirt ramp, but significantly steeper, to a 90 degree angle straight up. * Shipping container: A shipping container (or sometimes two put together) elevated on a few feet of dirt with ramps on either side. Generally used where the dirt is too soft or loose to build a proper dirt ramp. * Wall: Used exclusively at the World Finals when the near side of the wall, next to Thunder Alley, is designed specifically for backflips using dirt and specially designed boxes (there are usually sponsorship banners on the wall itself). This was originally built with dumpsters on top, but currently use shipping containers. * Dumpster: A dumpster is set on a pad of dirt and the sides are used as the 90 degree portion. Used for the backflip wall at World Finals XIV and XV. Now used for all Monster Jam ramps, for support it's filled with dirt. * Trailer: Done off of a large transport trailer, similar to that of the large trailers used for the largest obstacles for the early Monster Jam World Finals tracks, although these are stuffed so that the truck goes up and not straight through it. * Car: Like a dirt ramp, but with cars placed on the ramp to project the truck up in the air and eventually backwards back onto its wheels. * Tire: Like the dirt ramp, it is used from the 8-pack wheelie ramp, but there are tires laced into the dirt which are designed to do backflips with it. Even when not a "car" ramp, cars are often used in construction of backflip ramps, believed to be for support. Drivers Associated With the Backflip *Lyle Hancock (Wrenchead.com) - First driver to attempt any sort of backflip, First driver to attempt Reverse Backflip (2000) *Mike Welch (Freakshow (Welch)) - first driver to attempt a rebound backflip by dropping off of a ramp. He didn't drive the truck as it was powered by a remote control. (2004) *Travis Pastrana (Nitro Circus) - first driver to attempt a conventional backflip (2008) *Larry Quick (Ghost Ryder) - first driver to land a backflip in front of a crowd (2009), first driver to attempt the double backflip (2010). *Tom Meents (Maximum Destruction) - first driver to successfully land a backflip (2009), first driver to attempt the stunt in front of an audience (2009), first driver to attempt the stunt at the World Finals (2009), first driver to attempt the corkscrew backflip (2011). *Cam McQueen (Nitro Circus / Northern Nightmare) - first driver to land a backflip in scored competition (2010), first driver to land a backflip at the World Finals (2011), first driver to attempt a reverse backflip at the World Finals (2014), first driver to land the corkscrew (2016). *Madusa (Madusa) - first female driver to attempt a backflip (2011). *Kaila Savage (Heart Breaker) - first female driver to land a backflip (2011) *Corey Clark (Freak Show) - first driver to attempt a backflip in Australia. (2011) *George Balhan (Mohawk Warrior) - first driver to land the Consecutive Backflip (2012) *Monster Mash- the first driver to attempt a conventional reverse backflip (2012) *Linsey Weenk (Lucas Oil Crusader) - first driver to land 2 backflips in scored competition (2012) *Adam Anderson (Grave Digger the Legend) - first driver to attempt the Forward Momentum Backflip (2012) *Dave Radzierez (XDP Diesel) - first driver to land a backflip in a diesel powered monster truck (2014). *Nicole Johnson (Scooby-Doo!) - first female driver to land a backflip at the World Finals (2014). *Todd LeDuc (Metal Mulisha/Monster Energy) - first driver to complete 2 backflips in scored competition at the World Finals (2014). First driver to attempt/land a mini-flip, a mini-flip overseas, and the only driver to attempt the mini-flip on a dirt ramp (2017). *Scott Buetow (Team Hot Wheels Firestorm/El Toro Loco (Ice)) - first driver to complete 3 backflips in scored competition at the World Finals (2016), first driver to complete 4 backflips in scored competition at the World Finals (2017). He has also become the first and only driver to complete several 360 flairs (2019). *Neil Elliott (Monster Jam 25th Anniversary/Max-D) - first driver to land the mid-air backflip (2017), first driver to land the reverse backflip (2017). *Ryan Anderson (Son-uva Digger) - first driver to land the Backflip to Moonwalk (2018). *Peter Nyman (EarthShaker (Viking Monster Trucks)) - first European driver to land a backflip. (2018) *Hayden McLeary (Buddy) - first Australian driver to land a backflip. (2018) *Colton Eichelberger (Max-D) - first driver to land a backflip using an 8-pack wheelie ramp in an arena. (2019) *Brad Allen (El Toro Loco) - first driver to land a backflip using an 8-pack wheelie ramp in a stadium. (2019) *Becky McDonough (El Toro Loco) - first driver to land a backflip using an 8-pack wheelie ramp in the World Finals. (2019) *Heavy D (BroDozer) - first driver to attempt a backflip with a diesel powered truck in a scored competition (2018), first driver to land a backflip with a diesel powered truck in a scored competition. (2019) *Diesel Dave (BroDozer) - first driver to perform a consecutive backflip with a diesel powered truck, and the 100th driver to complete a backflip.(2019) *John Gordon (Bad Company) - first driver to complete the mid-air backflip in competition. (2019) *Rosalee Ramer (Wild Flower) - first female driver to attempt a corkscrew off a backflip ramp *BJ Johnson (Gas Monkey Garage) - attempted the final corkscrew off of a backflip ramp at World Finals 19 Controversy The backflip is not universally popular among Monster Jam enthusiasts. Many fans have criticized the backflip for being over-used and, during some shows, the judges tendency to score a freestyle off of quantity of backflips, rather than the quality of them or any other means of variety the freestyle has. Trivia * Monster Jam's current dumpster ramps are sponsored by Monster Energy products, and are referred to as the Monster Energy Backflip Ramp. However, the ramps are only called the Monster Energy Backflip Ramp at shows that Monster Energy is participating in. At other stadium shows, the ramps have been called the Monster Jam Backflip Ramp. * For a period the Monster Jam ramps were called the Mutant backflip ramp, but it was changed after Mutant was discontinued. Gallery Whiplash-monster-truck-backflip.jpg|Whiplash's backflip from the Mutant sponsored backflip ramp currently used in Monster Jam Ghostryder_backflip.jpg Razin_Kane_backflip_fail.png|The standard backflip dirt ramp. Shipping_container_backflip_ramp.jpg|Soldier Fortune and Soldier Fortune Black Ops doing backflips off of shipping containers. Notice the crush car in between the ramp and the wall. Trailer_backflip_ramp.jpg|Ryan Anderson's Son-Uva Digger debut backflip off of a trailer. Five_backflips_off_of_the_wall.png|The five truck backflip off of the wide wall-ramp from the World Finals 17 encore. Car_backflip_ramp.jpg|Brute Force during the aftermath of a failed backflip attempt off of a car ramp. Category:Monster Truck Terms